Alien Mine Ch. 14

"I don't know," he said, holding Amancia, "let's wait a few days, give the symbionts time to settle. Perhaps I can break the connection, the nanobytes have responded to me before, but honestly, it's like they have a mind of their own. My control is limited," he said with frustration. Rhys did not like things he couldn't control. It was his job to know, to know everything, but all of this was so new even Bob was puzzled.

He was mad at himself for sending Leslie back with just Amancia. He didn't have enough soldiers; it was a problem. He had his hands full with Bao and Mika, and he needed to move on women leaders in The US, Russia, and China. Rhys considered the problem. There were two possible solutions, recruit more mercenaries or get an active military unit. Rhys and Kiania had discussed this, and their preference was an established, trained military unit, company-sized. But without leadership in place he could trust, that wasn't an option, so that moved up on his list. The other option was to redirect personnel assignments, siphon off selected soldiers from various divisions and build their own company-sized unit from scratch. It would be child's play for Leslie to get into the DOD personnel system and redirect assignments. It took more time to integrate troops from different services, but he thought it was possible. With the new Om bases Leslie had detected, the threat had just increased and was forcing his hand. Israel was a possibility, but he didn't want to do that until Mika's symbiont was mature and she was the new Prime Minister.

Rhys didn't think waiting was an option any longer if the Om were actively spreading. Making a decision, he decided they would have to begin getting men from the armed forces. He hated not having the resources he needed, and the solution to that was getting control of the US government. It was time to select a candidate.

"Let's talk for a minute Rhys," Sandy said, coming over and straddling his lap, her lips millimeters from his. "The dragon, we all saw it this time," she said slowly. "It's strong, much stronger than any of us, stronger than I realized. That time when I lost control and attacked, you could have destroyed me without much effort, but you didn't. Thank you for that."

"How could I possibly hurt you," he replied, kissing her lips lightly. "You were my first love and always will be. I am not sure I could do this without you."

"You would be fine; the other girls are lovely, strong, and capable. Any one of them could replace me."

"Perhaps, but I made you like you are before I knew what I was doing. Of all of them, you are the one who most reflects my desires, my wants. You are beautiful, strong, a partner, and my first lover."

"You were hardly a virgin when I met you," she said with a low laugh, brushing his lips across her.

"No, but you were the first one I fell in love with."

Sandy kissed him for a long time. "Thank you for telling me that, though you know I can sense how much you love me," she said, wrapping her hair around them both. Then Sandy abruptly stood up and took a step back. "The dragon," she said in a throaty voice; it's very sexy. All the girls are impressed. After we fought, you took me as a dragon; I want that again, please," she said somewhat shyly.

"You are full of surprises and a little kinkier than I knew."

Sandy blushed, but only a little. Holding her head up and looking Rhys in the eyes, she said, "It was so powerful, masculine, and oh so sexy. The way it made me feel, you possessing me like that. Well, it was the best ever."

Rhys smiled, a self-satisfied smile, Sandy thought. I will try, but I do not have that kind of control. I just reacted."

"It was there for Leslie and Amancia, and you marked Leslie."

"Yes, I did," Rhys said, a little puzzled. "I didn't intend to, but suddenly it was there."

"The dragon looks good on her, fitting, I think, since it saved her. But the other girls are jealous, you know, they all want one, even Bao, whose symbiote isn't even mature yet. They all need the nanobits for protection; can you give it to them?"

Rhys thought about what Sandy had said. "I don't know," he said, exasperated with that answer. "I had help again this time," he admitted.

"The voice, the mysterious AI?"

"Yes. I have no idea who or what it is. The AI is the best guess; of course, we have all talked about it, but it only acts during times of strife with the OM. I have no way to contact it; it doesn't respond when I try to interface with it."

Sandy started to sashay away but stopped looking back. "Well, Mr. Smith, I suggest you work on it; you have marked three of us, the others are feeling left out," she said in a sassy voice looking back over her shoulder.

Bao worked with Mei, but she did not want to look at math for the first time in her life. She was consumed with thoughts of the man Rhys; what she had seen that first night was burned into her memory. As was the incredible pleasure she had felt when she orgasmed. Bao felt her face flush thinking about it and how embarrassed she had been. Speaking with Sandy later had helped, but facing Mei the next day had been hard. Bao had not wanted to come out of her room, but a promise she could use the VR to connect with the AI had convinced her.

Bao could lose herself for hours, but then her mind would drift back to what she had seen. Bao was not wholly innocent, but she had never been with a man or seen a real one naked. Her own curiosity had been satisfied by a few brief forays into online pornography, but she had always been too shy for a boyfriend. Now she was torn by two desires, wanting to connect directly to the AI like Mei and Thea did and a growing hunger for Rhys. And jealousy. She was jealous of the way Mei looked, how beautiful and poised she was. Mei was now a far cry from the dedicated scientist who cared nothing about her appearance. Now she had gleaming hair, a face that would never need makeup, perfect eyes, and now a body like she would see in advertisements in beauty magazines. Yet Mei was still Mei, just so much better, and Rhys loved her.

The other problem was Bao was now intimidated by the intelligence of everyone here. She had always considered herself the equal of everyone, even her mentor Mei. Now Bao felt slow, dull compared to the vivacious women and certainly Rhys. In the short time she had been here, the feeling had grown daily. Watching Mei and Thea seamlessly work with the AI, science she could not understand, made her emotions boil over. "Mei! Why did you bring me here," she shouted out, suddenly shocking the others.

Mei and Thea looked at her with concern. "What do you mean," Mei asked, walking over to Bao and giving her a hug. "I brought you here to help understand this, and I couldn't bear to leave you alone."

"Tears formed in Bao's eyes. "I hate it," she said. "You are all so much smarter than me, so beautiful. You brought me here to help, but I cannot work with the AI like you do, and the symbiont, it has made you so much smarter, you don't even need me," she cried.

"Bao, look at me," Thea said sternly. "We are trying to give you time to adjust; Rhys didn't want to push it on you until you are ready."

"I am ready!" Bao shouted. "I know what you do with Rhys and each other all the time," she said, looking at Mei, whose cheeks flushed at Bao's words. "Either let me have a symbiont or send me back; I want to be smart, to be beautiful like you," she said, breaking into tears again.

Mei held her, knowing it would come to this. She had tried putting it off, but that wasn't going to work.

"It's time," Thea said to Mei." She may be innocent, but she is not naive, and Rhys wants to get her symbiote started."

"I know, I agree. Will you talk to Rhys about it?"

"Already done; tonight after dinner, he needs to spend time with Amancia and Leslie, get some more Bob into them so hopefully he can figure out what's going on."

Mei just nodded her head and sighed. She knew it would come, but it never seemed the right time.

Thea thought it odd that Mei was so protective of Bao. She had demanded Bao come, and Bao needed a mature symbiont to be of use to them. All the girls were anxious, especially Sandy. Something was fascinating and erotic about Rhys giving a girl a symbiont. Especially this one, because she will be working with them, part of our team. Of course, Mei and Thea were lovers, and now Bao would be as well. Thea thought that was a good thing, and she was irritated that Mei had delayed it.

Thea walked over and pulled Mei into her arms. Mei was shy in front of Bao and tried to tear away, but Thea didn't let her. 'No!" she said sharply to Mei, pulling her back, and Mei, suddenly submissive, let her. Neither was sure exactly what had just happened, but it was clear to both of them Thea was in charge.

"Tonight Bao, We all agree. We need you, we need your help, and the sooner your symbiont is mature, the quicker we will be able to decipher the Drans technology. Sandy has told you what to expect, and it will be the most beautiful experience you have ever had. The symbiont gives you so much, and Rhys is a gentle, fantastic lover.

Thea pulled Mei into a kiss, not a quick one, but the kind lovers exchange. Mei was surprised but didn't resist.

Thea broke the kiss, then looked over at Bao. "Now that's settled, I need some help with the fabricators. Bao, you can do it, she said and waved her hand. A schematic appeared in front of Bao.

"A sword?" She said, surprised.

A sword made from Drans smart metal with an edge one molecule thick. It should make short work of the parasites, and our strike team can use them. This other project," she said with another wave of her hand, "is a bit more complicated. Mei and I have been working on it, and I think it's ready to go to prototype. We need to see if it will fly like I believe it can.

Bao looked at the schematics in the hologram. It was a plane or jet for sure, but much of it didn't mean much to her yet.

"It's Rhys' new transportation," Mei said. "We think we can reproduce part of the propulsion the shuttle uses on a small scale, at least for atmospheric flight. We need something safe and fast that can be seen at an airport. We can't just keep appearing in parts of the world; people will get suspicious."

'He and Sandy will love jetting around the world in this; it will be quite luxurious and heavily armed," Thea said.

Bao turned her thoughts to the tasks, but there was a feeling of anticipation that wouldn't go away. Excited and scared because tonight, she would, at last, be with Rhys.

***

Leslie was in the front room of the house eating breakfast and drinking coffee while reviewing the events from the previous days using video the archive captured by the drones. The memory of the events in the apartment was still hazy, but the drones had captured it from multiple angles. She saw herself react to the Om (too slow) and fall to the ground in convulsions. Nothing of the fight afterward triggered any memories. I guess I am lucky to be alive, she thought; thank God for Amancia. The thought of ending up like that poor guy, eaten up from the inside by an Om parasite, terrified her.

She reached up and ran her fingers across the choker at her throat, wondering about it. They knew so little about the alien-designed nanobytes it was frustrating. They had protected Rhys and Amancia from the Om, and apparently, they had saved her life as well. But they were a weapon that answered to Rhys and could be used against her if he chose. And now she wore the dragon mark as well, splashed across her right hip and abdomen. It was beautiful, she had to admit, (but only to herself) and terribly sexy as well. Leslie had never considered getting a tattoo, but she had one now, whether she wanted one or not. Leslie wasn't sure how she felt about it, angry she had been marked like this without her permission or proud Rhys had branded her like he had Sandy and Amancia. Nevertheless, both of them seemed happy with it. Of course, Amancia liked hers; she was so submissive, but Sandy was pleased with hers as well and always dressed to show it off.

Her thoughts were disturbed by Amancia. Somehow Leslie knew Amancia was nearby before she walked into the room, followed by Rhys and Sandy.

"How are you feeling," Amancia said, coming over and giving her a hug. There was nothing unusual about that; the girls were constantly hugging each other, but the moment they touched each other, an awareness of the other person flared. Leslie's identity seemed to blur into Amancia's, and without thinking, Leslie jerked back, pushing Amancia away.

"It's still there," Amancia said to Rhys.

"I know, I could feel it when you touched her," Rhys replied, concern in his voice.

"What's happening," Leslie asked, looking confused.

Rhys sat next to her taking her hand, then pulling her into his lap. "I am not sure; something happened when the nanobytes from Amancia went into you and fought the virus. It made a connection between the two of you, a strong one," he said with emphasis, "probably to enable it to fight the virus. Bob doesn't understand what happened either, but it's not just when you touch. Amancia is actively blocking the connection now."

"Leslie looked alarmed, and Rhys didn't blame her. Amancia had told him that the connection was not a communication link; rather, it was joining two individuals into one consciousness. "We need to understand it," he went on in a soothing voice, so I want to try a few experiments."

Leslie watched in surprise as a few strands of Sandy's hair seemed to reach out on their own, extending itself and wrapping around her, Rhys and Amancia. She hadn't seen Sandy do this since the shuttle was damaged.

"I have gotten much better at control," Sandy said. Leslie was even more surprised when additional hair from Sandy's head reached out and wrapped itself around Amancia, picked her up, and set her on her knees in front of Rhys.

Rhys concentrated for a minute focusing on the two girls. Then Sandy relaxed as Rhys' presence filled her mind. They had found that her hair acted to amplify the response from the symbionts, and taking advantage of her new abilities, Rhys used this to probe Leslie and Amancia's. What he found surprised him as he sorted through the complex patterns of emotions of the two women. Amancia's he recognized immediately, but Leslie's were different in subtle ways. The basic design was there, but there was a mixture that also resembled Amancia's.

"Bob?" he queried his symbiont.

"The nanobytes somehow transferred part of Amancia's symbiont into Leslie, possibly to repair it. However, from what I can see, the virus destroyed a significant part of her original symbiont, possibly as much as a third. So it must have used Amancia's to rebuild the damage."

"How is that even possible?"

"We have no knowledge of the nanobots other than they were designed to protect the AI. The DNA is Leslie's, but part of the symbiont within is Amancia's and is trying to respond to her. So that has created a link between the two of them."

"Can it be repaired?"

"Perhaps, you will need to inject me into them; I will know more then." But first, we need to see how strong the connection is. Have Amancia drop her barrier and use your mate's hair; that will help us to analyze."

Leslie listened with growing concern, but Rhys kept her emotions calm. Amancia dropped the barrier to the connection at his nod and opened the channel in her mind to Leslie. Rhys and Sandy could see it; an emotional bond that connected the two of them sprang into being, bright and thick, like a multihued band of almost fluorescent colors.

Amancia gasped and stared into Leslie's eyes, seeing herself, but at the same time seeing Leslie. It was as if she were in two places at once. First, they reached out and touched hands; then Leslie moved off Rhys' lap and embraced Amancia.

"What's happening?" Sandy asked with concern.

"I don't know," Rhys said mystified, "but you can see the connection. It's different from ours, more intense, and much wider."

"The data flow is much stronger between the symbionts; the data exchange rate is doubled."

"What does that mean?" Sandy asked.

"Symbiont to symbiont communication, their brains are working at twice normal speed even for an enhanced human."

"They don't seem in any distress; look at the emotional bands Rhys; they are all bright and colorful. There is also arousal there; I think they are enjoying whatever is happening."

"Let's put them on the bed, leave them at it for now. I don't think we should interrupt whatever is happening." Rhys went to pick them up, but Sandy just scooped them up with her hair, placing them on their sides facing each other. She had been careful not to break physical contact between the two of them.

"Look!" Sandy said, pointing to the two women's necks. The nanobytes had formed a figure eight around the two women's necks.

"Stranger and Stranger," Rhys said before turning his attention back to Sandy.

As Sandy pulled back her hair, Rhys grabbed a few strands, using them to pull Sandy toward him. "I still need to get some Bob into them," he said, standing up, his erection evident underneath his pants.

"Of course, oh great one," Sandy said with a smile and a low throaty voice as she licked her lips. Her dress fell to the floor, and she knelt naked in front of him. Her hair flowed around him, and she could feel his desire, the way he responded to her. The sensation accelerated her response to his body, and she looked up at him with lust-filled eyes. 'Order me," she challenged him.

"I want to feel your beautiful lips on me," he said, teasing her. "You will lick me slowly with your long tongue; then you will take me deep in your throat and suck my entire cock while I use your mouth to get off. I will cum in your mouth, but you will not swallow, but instead will give it to Leslie and Amancia."

Sandy just looked up at him; it was still not a command.

Rhys grinned down at her. "Suck my cock like an obedient slut and do it now!"

Sandy took him into her mouth as the command sent a familiar burst of lust through her. She loved this part, the orders exciting her more since Rhys had marked her. The dragon flames seemed to heat up when he commanded her, fire shooting into her groin, her brain, everywhere. Her hair seemed to amplify it also, something for her to remember.

"Rhys smiled to himself, he enjoyed this game as much as Sandy, and the way she used her hair to hold his cock was exquisite.

***

"Are they going to be ok?" Kiania asked, looking down at Leslie and Amancia.

Sandy sat beside them, her hair caressing their foreheads and cheeks. "Rhys thinks so, and I do not detect any stress, in fact, just the opposite. They have been like this for three hours now and seem happy with whatever is happening between them."

Kiania watched Sandy's hair move over them as if it was alive, which she guessed it now was. "That's really freaky, the way your hair moves," she said, looking at Sandy.

"Yes, it is a little, Sandy agreed as some of it flowed over to caress Kiania's face. 'I'm still learning what all it can do, but I don't remember you complaining last night about what it was doing, do you,'' Sandy said, with a sexy laugh.

Kiania blushed a little. "No, I never thought a woman's hair could get me off; it was very erotic, she said with affection. But I wonder if it can be used as a weapon as well? Can you harden it? Could you stab someone with it?

"I don't know," Sandy said, thinking. Technically we don't have normal hair; it's made up of the same stuff that gives us our strength, that forms our muscles. I'll have to experiment more." Amancia began to move. "It looks like they are waking up," she added, giving Rhys a call.